When the Basswood Tree is in bloom it seems like a field of buckwheat flowers perched upon a large Tree, perfuming the air. The Tree swarms with nectar sucking bees who return to the hive from the 'bee tree' to make an excellent strong-flavoured honey. I know of no other tall Tree in this neck of the woods that puts forth such a floral display.

These white and yellow flowers are the most sought-after and herbally used part of the Basswood. Colonists and pioneers recalled its close cousin, the European Linden, or Lime Tree, and found the Basswood flowers to have similar qualities. One quality to be CAUTlOUS of is that the blossoms must be gathered fresh when in full bloom, as the older ones may produce symptoms of narcotic intoxication.

Very edible and tasty fresh in a tossed salad, Basswood flowers are more commonly dried and used to make a relaxing tea. This tea is most known for its diaphoretic and nervine qualities.

As a diaphoretic it helps bring on sweating which helps break up weak fevers, colds, coughs, sore throats and hoarseness. It would also be good to drink before entering a sauna.

As a nervine, the tea is a calmative for headache, insomnia, hysteria, nervousness, restlessness, cramps, nervous vomiting and indigestion. CAUTION must be exercised here, as some people have experienced nausea and indigestion from drinking Basswood flower tea. For people who don't experience such problems, this tea can be used as an alternative to aspirin for colds, especially for children.

The tea is most commonly made by steeping a teaspoon of the flowers in a cup of hot water for half an hour. A cup or two each day is usually sufficient but more can be drunk if it feels all right.

Basswood flower tea has also been used for dropsy, amenorrhea, epilepsy and painful spasms. Because it thins the blood, it has been used in the treatment of arteriosclerosis. Some people have claimed it helps clear the kidneys, bladder and stomach of excess mucous.

Soaking in a long hot bath, which has had a strong brew of the flower tea added, can cool the head, promote sleep and ease nervousness.

A poultice of the flowers has helped boils and other painful swellings.

In winter the most obvious recognizable signs of a Basswood Tree are the large red terminal buds. With a nutty flavour and a mucilaginous texture they re good thirst quenchers and throat-soothers. Through the years they've been relied on as an emergency food.

In spring, summer and fall it's the large asymmetrical heart-shaped leaves that are the great identifying sign. In spring I like to nibble the tender mucilaginous leaves by themselves or in a salad. Steeping a fresh leaf or two (1 tsp., if dried) in a cup of hot water for half an hour makes an infusion that is diaphoretic and can cleanse the system of excess mucous, particularly in the lungs, kidneys bladder and stomach. For a chronic cough, colds, and sore throat remedy, suitable to break up bronchial catarrh, drink this tea as frequently as necessary.

The inner bark of the Basswood is most noted for its long, strong fibres. They have been used for thousands of years by native peoples to make a superior rope that is soft on the hands when wet and is tangle-free when dry. Mats, bags, and fishing line are also crafted from this fibre. Being antiseptic by nature the fine fibre threads have also been used to suture wounds.

The inner bark contains mucilaginous materials, and has been used as an antiseptic dressing for binding and healing wounds, skin irritations and burns, and as an emergency bandage, cut fresh from the tree. Many people recommend it as a burn remedy. It is boiled into a poultice for resolving boils.

The inner bark can also be chewed fresh for emergency food, or dried and pounded to make a nourishing flour. Boiled into a tea, the inner bark can help a cold.

Mohawk women have used a specially made tea of Basswood branch bark mixed with staghorn Sumac bark as a tonic for childbirth.

Thanks to the bees, Basswood flowers usually mature into nutlike fruits the size of a pea. They cluster beneath large heavy wings that act like twirling parachutes when all is ripe, and downward they descend. A fixed oil can be expressed from the seeds, but they're eaten more commonly fresh as a survival food.

About a hundred years ago a French chemist discovered that Linden fruits can be ground up with some of the flowers into a very nutritious paste with a flavour similar to chocolate. It doesn't keep well, but one assumes that eaten soon after grinding it would be a fun and healthy food. Basswood fruits would probably yield a similarly flavoured paste.